1. Arizona Heat
Coach Mike D’Antoni had some harsh word for his Suns team after falling to
1-5. “We’re soft as freaking cupcakes out there,” said D’Antoni. The
coach’s frustrations boiled over after a 119-112 loss to the Dallas
Mavericks but they had been simmering for quite some time. The Suns are on
a four game losing streak and have blown substantial lead in all of the
losses. What’s worse is that all have been conference loses, a conference
that Phoenix has made it to the finals in for the past two seasons.
Obviously, D’Antoni is upset with the defensive effort of his team. The
coach went on to say, “”We’re done messing around and we’re going to play
guys that are going to play hard.” Unfortunately, when you look at the box
scores, the Suns are hot on offense but seem to fear an overexposure from
defensive plays.
2. Cav Quitter?
LeBron James has been criticized since Tuesday night for walking off of the
court during the final moments of an overtime loss to Atlanta. According to
some, James quit on his team and showed poor sportsmanship. The incident
happened in the last ten seconds of the game with his team down by nine
points. James said that he never left the court although the television
footage doesn’t show it that way. He also questions whether this would be
an issue if it happened during a victory. Was he frustrated? Of course,
his team lost to one of the doormats of the NBA over the last eight years or
so. Should he have stuck around to shake hands with the other team?
Probably so, but I wouldn’t consider 34 points, seven rebounds and six
assists as quitting on your team. Following the controversy, the Cavs went
on to dominate the Bulls behind the efforts of James who had 19 points and
12 assists. Most would consider that to be a pretty good teammate.
3. C’mon Down!
Charles Barkley put up a new career high last night. And it didn’t involve
the gobbling up of rebounds or baked goods. On TNT’s Inside the NBA,
Barkley stunned the world when he proved to be somewhat knowledgeable on the
league’s players. The studio crew brought back its annual game show parody
named, “Who He Play For?” where Barkley attempts to name the team of a
player that has recently relocated. The Chuckster has been notoriously
awful over the past few years; however, this year he smashed his previous
best by correctly answering three out of five. Barkley knew that Raef
LaFrentz played for Portland, Theo Ratliff was on Boston and Darrell
Armstrong now resides in Indiana. Sir Charles was unaware that Alan Houston
played for Philadelphia or that Othella Harrington went to Charlotte.
Barkley’s playful excuse was that he only keeps up with the players that
actually get into the games.
4. So You’re Telling Me There’s A Chance
Joe Johnson is beginning to spread his wings as he has the Atlanta Hawks
soaring to the best record in the eastern conference. As unbelievable as it
may sound, Atlanta has a 3-1 record and is riding a three game winning
streak. Credit has to be given to Johnson as he is putting up some MVP type
numbers early on in the season. Johnson is averaging 40 minutes, 27.8
points, four rebounds, five assists and 1.5 steals per game. In addition,
his shooting numbers are terrific. Currently he sits at 48 percent on field
goals and 50 percent from behind the three point line, both are career
highs. While Atlanta has a few good, young players on their roster, at 25,
Johnson is the only diamond out of the batch. Johnson leads the team in
minutes, points and assists, and ranks 5th in rebounds, 3rd in blocks, and
3rd in steals. With Johnson, Atlanta has an outside shot of cracking the
top eight in the conference but without him, this team is guaranteed to
repeat their past performances as division cellar dwellers.
Thursday’s Player of the Day: Baron Davis vs. New Orleans 44 min, 36 pts
(FG: 11-17, 3FG: 1-4, FT: 13-17), 4 reb, 9 ast, 3 stl
Friday’s Game to Watch: New Orleans (4-1) @ Portland (3-2) Doesn’t look
right on paper, does it? But Portland is undefeated at home behind the
impressive efforts of power forward Zach Randolph who is averaging 28 points
on 52 percent shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, a steal and a block per
game. The Hornets are off to their best start in franchise history and tied
for the western conference’s best record. Second year point guard Chris
Paul is leading the way for the team as he comes off a career high night,
scoring 34 points against Golden State.